Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Cloudy tomorrow.
Monday
February 15, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 94
Online today
Remember your favorite cartoon from the '50s, '60s, '70s or '80s on this site. It gives a synopsis of the show, viewers' memories and lists links to related sites. http://www.yesterland.com
Sports today
Kansas women's basketball coach, Marian Washington, recorded her 499th career win Saturday against Nebraska.
SEE PAGE 1B
Contact the Kansan
News: (785) 864-4810
Advertising: (785) 864-4358
Fax: (785) 864-0391
Opinion e-mail: opinion@kansan.com
Sports e-mail: sports@kansan.com
Editor e-mail: editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Relief follows wrap-up of trial
Clinton: Acquitted in impeachment trial.
By Nadia Mustafa
Kansan staff writer
Many KU students, faculty and staff breathed a sigh of relief — but not of surprise — Friday at the end of the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.
(USPS 650-640)
The U.S. Senate voted in bipartisan fashion Friday to acquit Clinton, the second president to be impeached, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
Tesia Hostetler, Young Democrats member and Topeka senior, said she knew Clinton was going to be acquitted. She said she did not think that Clinton's actions merited impeachment.
"We did the whole run-around and it's finally over." Hostester said. "I'm happy that we can
finally move on with the business of running the nation."
She said lawmakers spent too much time debating Clinton's offenses and not enough time discussing issues such as Social Security reform and capitalizing on economic growth.
"It has lowered the level of political discourse," Hostetler said. "We're not talking about these issues because everything is scandal-oriented."
The Senate voted 55-45 against the first charge, perjury, with 10 Republicans joining all 45 Democrats voting not guilty.
40Democrats hold big胜利 The vote was 50-50 on the second charge, obstruction of justice, with five Republicans joining the Democrats.
After the verdict, Clinton said in a speech
from the Rose Garden that he was profoundly sorry for what he said and did in the Monica Lewinsky affair that sparked the impeachment trial, the first since Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868.
"It was the right decision, but that does not mean that the whole process was justified," Levy said. "There is so much blame to go around for everyone that I don't want to give positive marks to anyone."
See ACQUITTAL on page 2A
Presidents' Day crafted to recall leaders' legacies
By Katie Burford
Kansan staff writer
If George Washington were alive today to celebrate his birthday, he would be 267 or 268 years old.
Under the Old Style calendar, he was born Feb. 11, 1731, but under the Gregorian calendar, which came into use during Washington's lifetime, he was born Feb. 22, 1732.
According to "The American Book of Days," the reason for the discrepancy traces back to the calendar under which Washington was born, the Old Style or the Julian calendar.
But today is neither Washington's birthday, nor is it Abraham Lincoln's birthday, which is Feb. 2, 1809 — despite the fact that their birthdays insured President's Day.
A law passed by Congress in 1968 was the cause for the shift in the days. The law changed the federal observance of certain holidays to Mondays.
"We used to have actual birthdays to celebrate — Washington's and Lincoln's — but people in America like to have three-day weekends," said Jonathan Earle, assistant professor of history.
He said that if he had his way, he would make it a holiday to celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln.
"He was our greatest president," he said. "But Washington wasn't too shabby, either."
Buttle Tittle, professor of history, said that as a scholar, he was more interested in Abraham Lincoln's birthday and how Lincoln's work against
slavery was the reason for having African-American History Month in February.
Earle said Lincoln also had special meaning in Kansas.
Both pro-slavery and abolitionists wanted to lay claim to the state, he said.
"Abe thought a lot about Kansas," Earle said. "It was an important place, politically."
Not many KU students will have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday. They'll be in class.
Chancellor Robert Hemenay said he was not sure why the University of Kansas did not observe Presidents' Day.
"The schedule is suggested by governance and approved by the Board of Regents," he said. "Schedules are set up well in advance. As far as I know, it's never been an issue."
He said that if the University took Presidents' Day off, then the day would have to be made up some other time in the semester.
Alex Strahan, Lawrence senior, said it did not really matter to him that he would have to be in class today.
For President Bill Clinton, the day does not go without its obligations.
"If you want the day off, go work for the federal government," he said.
White House representatives were not available to comment on whether Clinton would attend the ceremony this year.
Traditionally, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Washington Monument is attended by either the President or a representative to commemorate the day.
Dances with dragons
Members of the Vietnamese Student Association perform a traditional Dragon Dance on the stage of the Kansas Union Ballroom. The dance is a way of warding off misfortune and evil in many Asian cultures. The VSA performed the dance on Saturday as part of its 1999 Tét Celebration. Tét is a Vietnamese holiday that commemorates the new year and is a time for family and friends to get together and wish one another prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
Sick pilots leave plans for travel up in air
By T.J. Johnson
Kansan staff writer
Passengers who were trying to fly American Airlines during the weekend encountered cancellations, delays and other travel problems.
About one-fourth of American Airlines pilots called in sick last Friday to protest a dispute with airline management, causing about one-half of the airline's domestic flights to be canceled.
Cancellations were less prevalent Saturday and yesterday, but many travel plans were still being disrupted.
Adrienne Goodwin, Prairie Village senior, said her friend's flight from Chicago to Kansas City, Mo., yesterday was changed from American Airlines to a standby spot on United Airlines because the flight had been canceled. This meant that she probably wouldn't return to Kansas City until last night.
Goodwin said that her friend needed to be back in town to start a new job today and that the delay could cause problems for her.
Karen Isley, Toledo senior, said that her sister had been moved Friday from an American Airlines flight to a United Airlines flight while flying to Kansas City from Cincinnati through Chicago. The switch had caused a four-hour delay for her sister, but no major disruptions for her travel schedule.
Some Reno Air pilots had been paid only half of what their counterparts at American were paid — leading to concerns that lower-paid pilots could take their jobs or flight assignments. American pilots want the Reno Air pilots added to the higher pay scale quickly.
Although American pilots were barred from striking about the issue, they were allowed to call in sick if they felt that they were under emotional stress that could have made it difficult for them to fly safely.
On Saturday, federal district judge Joe Kendall held the Allied Pilots Association union and two of its leaders in contempt for not doing enough to get the pilots working again. He threatened to fine them about $10 million.
More than 5,000 flights had been canceled since last week, leaving nearly half a million passengers stranded. The canceled flights cost American between $67 and $90 million.
Kendall said in his ruling that "No one can make someone go fly an airplane if someone is dishonest and willing to lie and say they are sick when they really aren't."
"but what a federal judge can do — and what I will do — is make people pay for what they break." Kendall said.
American officials were confident that the airline's services would be back to normal soon.
Officials at Kansas City International airport could not comment on the situation,but said that there had been some cancellations at the airport this week.
University, city discuss public transportation system
By Nadia Mustafa
Kansan staff writer
KU students and community members reached a consensus about the need for a public transportation system in Lawrence at a public forum Saturday.
About 50 people met at the Lawrence Public Library, including student senators, Student Legislative Awareness Board representatives and city commission candidates. They discussed options for implementing a public bus system at a forum sponsored by the Citizens for Public Transportation.
was not much dissent on the need for a public bus system. But, she said, people disagreed on who would pay for it and where the routes would go.
Erin Simpson, resident director of SLAB and Lenexa Junior, said there
"Most people see a need, but the solution is elusive." Simpson said.
She said cost and student control were the biggest issues.
Simpson said that there was not a specific plan, but that she hoped a plan would surface after the city commission elections in April.
The specifics would depend on how much money the state legislature allocated for public transportation and how responsive the city commission was to the issue, she said.
Simpson said the KU on Wheels bus system no longer was sufficient because of the city's growth and students' changing needs. She said distance, location and time were key issues in the need for a bus system that would serve the entire city.
"It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to survive," she said. "Nights and weekends are almost non-existent."
Tom Moore, SLAB campus director and Lawrence senior, said he wanted to get a commitment from city officials that public transportation would be one of their budgeting priorities after the April elections.
A fully integrated system would
"Students would want a fully integrated public transportation system because of its advantages over a KU On Wheels expansion"
Tom Moore
SLAB campus director and Lawrence senior
cost about $5 million end would take two or three years to implement, Moore said. He said that the city would pay for building the system, but that students would have to pay for its operating costs.
Wheels, a city-run bus system and a joint system between the University and the city.
The task force has been discussing options for public transportation, including the expansion of KU on
Wayne Popp, owner of the Lawrence Bus Company, said earlier this year that if the demand arose, he would expand the bus routes to cater to all of Lawrence instead of just KU students.
Moore said that because of the age of the buses, the number of hours they run and the Lawrence Bus Company's revenue, the KU on Wheels expansion would not be as efficient as a full-fledged public bus system.
"Students would want a fully integrated public transportation system because of its advantages over a KU on Wheels expansion," he said.
Moore said the obstacle in the way of implementing a joint system was a legal statute disallowing the use of student fees for programs that serve non-students. He said SLAB was in the process of discussing the issue with the administration and state officials.
1.